LATE JULY EVENING - PART 1

After finishing the study of Late July Eve, I decided to do a larger version. Since I wanted to slightly change the format, I chose a canvas that has a more typical landscape look - in this case 24" X 36". I then proceed to draw out the image using thinned raw umber oil concentrating on getting a good balance between the sky, water and landscape. With this done, I sat the canvas on the floor of my studio and looked at it over the period of a few days planning and dreaming how I would go about the painting process. When I was ready, I started on the sky working wet-into wet and blending most of the colors on the canvas. I particularly wanted a softer effect in the upper sky with the lower clouds being more hard-edged. The study was helpful here and I referred to it often during this part of the painting. I added a little more warm red/orange to the lower sky than in the study then put in the distant ridge using a slightly deeper purple than what I had used in the sky. On reflection I was happy with the painting so far but realised that there would be a few slight alterations which I would address later on. Next, I work on the distant landscape and start to detail the mid-ground.